Martial eagles are incredible birds of prey that soar high above the ground, so high that they can be difficult or impossible to see, and swoop down to capture their prey.
Rachel Chapman caught this eagle on camera with the carcass of a guinea fowl it had likely brought down itself, but in coming down to earth the large bird appeared to be trapped there.
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Suffering From Success
Despite its current predicament, this eagle appeared to have had a very successful day, managing to bring down a guinea fowl, a large bird with plenty of meat for the eagle to work its way though over time.
Of course, if the bird was going to get the time to safely eat its captured prey it first needed to get it somewhere safe, where other predators wouldn’t be able to steal it, and leave the eagle with nothing for all of its hard work.
The eagle appeared to have brought down the guinea fowl on an open plain, which meant there was no where the eagle could retreat to for cover, but it also meant that it would be able to see any other threats of thieves coming.
Weighing Up Those Options
Many other predators are attracted to the sounds of a fight, as depending on what is hunting and being hunted, they might be able to steal scraps of the spoils for themselves with minimal effort.
Knowing this, the eagle must have been aware that its options were to either eat its fill quickly and leave the rest for scavengers, or try and transport the guinea fowl to a location where it could enjoy the meal at its leisure, or even use it to feed young.
For a hungry eagle, one of these options was clearly better than the other. After looking around to make sure there were no immediate threats in the area, and the eagle seized the carcass in its strong talons, spread its wings and took to the sky.
Skimming The Top Of The Grass
Perhaps saying it took to the sky was a little optimistic. It was certainly flying, but despite the effort it was putting into its wingbeats, it wasn’t really going up.
Instead, the heavily laden eagle managed to pull of a long distance hop, aided by its wings, skimming over the top of the grass before having to put its prey and claws back onto the ground so it could push off again.
The guinea fowl didn’t look particularly big when compared to the bird of prey, but it might have been a particularly dense bird, or maybe the eagle just pushed off poorly the first time.
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Struggling To Soar
Martial eagles are soaring birds, which means that they spend most of their time in the air using the currents of warm and cool air to stay aloft and cover large distances without needing to continuously flap their wings.
The trick to soaring is to get high enough for these air currents to make a difference in the first place, and that was where this eagle was struggling. If it could get high enough off the ground it would be able to fly as normal.
The eagle’s second pushoff looked to be more successful than the first, but the eagle was still coasting low to the ground when it exited the frame of the camera. Hopefully it was able to get the carcass somewhere safe, it would definitely need the energy of a good meal after carrying it.